It has been a whirlwind of conflicting reports since Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson claimed the couple were involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase with “highly aggressive paparazzi” in New York.
Since the statement, police, photographers and even the taxi driver – who was thrust into the middle of a media storm when he picked up the couple in his yellow cab – have had their say.
Here Sky News breaks down what has been said so far…
Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s spokesperson released a statement on Wednesday, saying they had been involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase that was caused by “highly aggressive paparazzi” on Tuesday evening.
The incident took place as Harry and Meghan, and her mother Doria Ragland, left the Ms Foundation for Women’s annual gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, where Meghan picked up an award.
Image: Doria Ragland, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex attend the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards
Image: Prince Harry and Meghan leave awards before car chase
Image: The couple attending the ceremony in New York
The couple’s spokesperson said the “relentless pursuit” lasted more than two hours and “resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers”.
Press secretary for the Sussexes, Ashley Hansen, later exclusively told Sky’s Mark Stone: “I have never experienced their vulnerability as much as I did last night. They were incredibly scared and shaken up.”
Police in New York
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According to police, one NYPD vehicle escorted their car across 57th Street and other streets for around one hour and 15 minutes, in a bid to lose pursuers.
The Sussexes and Ms Ragland were driven to the NYPD’s 19th precinct building and stayed there for around 15 minutes.
The couple then got into a different car and got to their residence without being followed. But police appeared to downplay the severity of the “car chase”, which they described as “a bit chaotic”.
Image: A map of where the Sussexes attended the event
Julian Phillips, the deputy commissioner of the New York Police Department, said: “There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests.”
New York’s Mayor Eric Adams said: “The press or paparazzi, you know, they want to get the right shot, they want to get the right story.
“But public safety must always be at the forefront. In a briefing I received [I heard] two of our officers could have been injured… I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how [Harry’s] mum died.
Mr Adams added he believes the behaviour of those following the Sussexes was “reckless and irresponsible”.
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1:22
Mayor found it ‘hard to believe’ it was a two-hour high-speed chase
Taxi driver who picked up the Sussexes
Sukhcharn Singh, a taxi driver who picked up the Sussexes outside the 19th precinct, told The Washington Post: “I don’t think I would call it a chase.”
He said he picked up the couple and Ms Ragland at 11pm and they were in his car for around 10 minutes.
“I never felt like I was in danger,” Mr Singh said. “It wasn’t like a car chase in a movie. They were quiet and seemed scared but it’s New York – it’s safe.”
Mr Singh said he got the impression from the Sussexes that they had already been pursued by paparazzi before they got in his car.
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Harry and Meghan’s taxi driver speaks out
Eyewitness who said paparazzi were ‘aggressive’
Zara Sayeed saw the pair arrive and depart from the awards ceremony. She said: “The way I saw them [the paparazzi] follow the car – I wasn’t surprised by the headlines.
“As they [the Sussexes] were leaving, just the way they chased the car, it just reminds me of all the other scenes we have seen in the past with Prince Harry’s mother.
‘It was really upsetting. It was triggering for me – I can’t imagine how it must have felt for them.”
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Paparazzi ‘aggressive’ to Sussexes
The response from the paparazzi
A paparazzi driver reportedly involved in the incident admitted it was “very tense” attempting to keep up with the couple – but blamed the “catastrophic experience” on the couple’s driver.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “They did a lot of blocking and there was a lot of different type of manoeuvres to stop what was happening.
“Their driver was making it a catastrophic experience… if they were going 80mph, I would probably have been going 20mph behind them and hoping to keep sight of them,
“So if it was dangerous and catastrophic, it was more than likely based on the person that was driving.”
In other developments, a celebrity news agency that filmed Harry and Meghan up close has also disputed their version of events – and claimed it was actually an SUV in the couple’s security detail that was driving recklessly.
A statement from Backgrid said it had received footage from four freelance photographers who had no intention of causing distress or harm – and several pictures showed Meghan smiling inside the taxi.
CCTV and police bodycam footage allegedly showing three police officers being assaulted at Manchester Airport has been played to jurors.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, are said to have struck out after police were called to the airport on 23 July last year, following Amaaz allegedly headbutting a customer at a Starbucks in Terminal 2.
Minutes later, three police officers approached the defendants at the paystation in the terminal’s car park.
A jury at Liverpool Crown Court today watched CCTV footage from opposite angles, which captured what the prosecution says was a “high level of violence” being used by the siblings.
The prosecution says Amaaz resisted as officers tried to move him to arrest him, and Amaad then intervened.
Junior counsel Adam Birkby suggested Amaaz threw 10 punches, including one to the face of PC Lydia Ward, which knocked her to the floor.
His brother Amaad is then said to have aimed six punches at firearms officer PC Zachary Marsden.
Amaaz also allegedly kicked PC Marsden and struck firearms officer PC Ellie Cook twice with his elbow.
He is said to have punched PC Marsden from behind and had a hold of him, before PC Cook discharged her Taser.
Image: Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (left) and Muhammed Amaad (right) arrive at the court with their lawyer. Pic: PA
The bodycam and CCTV footage, submitted as evidence by the prosecution, allegedly shows the officers’ arrival in the Terminal 2 car park and their attempts to arrest the siblings, as well as their exchanges with them.
PC Ward can be heard saying “Oi, you b*****d” in footage from her bodycam, the prosecution evidence appears to show.
She then appears to fall to the floor and screams.
PC Cook, who is pointing her Taser at one of the defendants, then allegedly says: “Stay on the floor, stay on the floor whatever you do.”
“Get back, get back,” PC Ward appears to say.
The bodycam footage, shown to the jury by the prosecution, shows PC Marsden, who is also pointing his Taser, appear to approach the defendant who is lying on the ground and kick out at him.
Mr Birkby said: “Mr Amaaz, while prone, lifts his head towards the officers. PC Marsden kicks Mr Amaaz around the head area.
“PC Marsden stamps his foot towards the crown of Mr Amaaz’s head area but doesn’t appear to connect with Mr Amaaz.”
Amaaz denies three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to the three police officers and one count of assault to Abdulkareem Ismaeil, the customer at Starbucks.
Amaad denies one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm to PC Marsden.
A paramedic who secretly gave a pregnant woman an abortion drug during sex has been jailed for more than 10 years.
Stephen Doohan, 33, was married when he met the woman on holiday in Spain in 2021 and began a long-distance relationship.
The High Court in Glasgow heard how the victim travelled to Edinburgh in March 2023 to visit Doohan after learning she was pregnant.
During consensual sex, Doohan twice secretly administered the tablets which led to the woman suffering a miscarriage.
In May, Doohan pleaded guilty to sexual assault and causing the woman to have an abortion. He returned to the dock on Monday where he was jailed for 10 years and six months.
Lord Colbeck said Doohan caused “long-term psychological injury” to his victim.
The judge said: “You put her through considerable pain over a number of days and left her facing a lifetime of pain and loss.”
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The court heard how the woman found tablets hidden under the mattress after she became suspicious over Doohan’s behaviour in bed.
Lord Colbeck said: “The complainer then carried out an internet search for abortion tablets and confronted you over your actions.”
After the woman fell ill, Doohan convinced her to lie to medics at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh amid fears he would be arrested if she told the truth.
The victim later attended another hospital with her sister and was told she was having a miscarriage.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said Doohan sent the woman gifts including perfume, socks, facial cleansing oil, money to get her hair done and bought tickets for them to attend a football match.
The woman complained to the Scottish Ambulance Service in May 2023, sparking an investigation.
The court heard that on 14 March 2023, the day the woman told Doohan she was pregnant, the paramedic used a work intranet to search for abortion drugs.
Lord Colbeck said: “You planned out what you did to your victim using resources available to you as a paramedic.”
In addition to his prison sentence, Doohan was also added to the sex offenders’ register and banned from contacting his victim.
Fiona Kirkby, procurator fiscal for high court sexual offences, said: “Stephen Doohan’s calculated and heinous actions caused the loss of the victim’s pregnancy, robbing her of plans she had for the future.
“He has now been held accountable for this fundamental breach of trust.
“While offences like this are thankfully rare, I hope this prosecution sends a clear message to all those who seek to inflict sexual harm towards women.
“Our thoughts remain with the victim, who must be commended for reporting her experience and seeking justice.
“We recognise that reporting sexual offending can be difficult but would urge anyone affected to come forward and seek support when they feel ready to do so.”
The Scottish Ambulance Service branded it an “appalling case”.
A spokesperson added: “We recognise the courage it must have taken for the victim to come forward and speak out.
“As soon as we learned of these very serious allegations and charges, we immediately took action, providing ongoing support to her whilst liaising with Police Scotland throughout the investigation.
“We know nothing will change what has happened to the victim and all we can hope is this sentence provides some comfort to them.”
UK farmers have “nothing more to give” as they fear the government will use agriculture to further reduce US tariffs in a trade deal with the White House.
The UK is trying to reduce steel tariffs to zero, from a current reduced rate of 25%, but Downing Street refused to confirm if it was confident ahead of Donald Trump’s deadline of 9 July.
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), said UK agriculture had already been used to reduce Trump-imposed tariffs on cars but any other concessions would have serious repercussions for farmers, food security and the UK’s high animal welfare standards.
He told Sky News: “It just feels like we, as the agricultural sector, had to shoulder the responsibility to reduce the tariffs on cars from 25%.
“We can’t do it anymore, we have nothing more to give.
“It’s clear the steel quotas and tariffs aren’t sorted yet, so we just want to be very clear with the government: if they’re sitting around the negotiating table – which we understand they are – they can’t expect agriculture to give any more.”
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Image: Tom Bradshaw, the head of the NFU, said farmers cannot give any more
‘Massively undermine our standards’
Since 30 June, the US has been able to import 13,000 tonnes of hormone-free British beef without tariffs under a deal made earlier this year, which farmers feel was to reduce the car import levy Mr Trump imposed.
The UK was also given tariff-free access to 1.4bn litres of US ethanol, which farmers say will put the UK’s bioethanol and associated sectors under pressure.
Allowing lower US food standards would “massively undermine our standards” and would mean fewer sales to the European Union where food standards are also high, Mr Bradshaw said.
It would leave British farmers competing on a playing field that is “anything but fair”, he said, because US food can be produced – and sold – much cheaper due to low welfare which could see a big reduction in investment in UK farms, food security and the environment.
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Can the UK avoid steel tariffs?
‘The US will push hard for more access’
He said the US narrative has always suggested they want access to British agriculture products “as a start and they’ll negotiate for more”.
“The narrative from the White House on 8 May, when a US-UK trade deal was announced, was all about further access to our agriculture products – it was very different to what our government was saying,” he added.
“So far, the UK has stood firm and upheld our higher welfare standards, but the US will push very hard to have further access.
“No country in the world has proved they can reduce the 10% tariffs further.”
Image: US poultry welfare is lower than the UK, with much more intensive farming that means the meat has to be washed with antimicrobials. Pic: AP
US ‘will target poultry and pork’
The Essex farmer said he expects the US to push “very hard” to get the UK to lower its standards on poultry and pork, specifically.
US poultry is often washed with antimicrobials, including chlorine, in an attempt to wash off high levels of bacteria caused by poor hygiene, antibiotic use and low animal welfare conditions not allowed in UK farming.
US pig rearing methods are also quite different, with intensive farming and the use of feed additive ractopamine legal, with both banned in the UK.
A government spokesperson told Sky News: “We regularly speak to businesses across the UK to understand the impact of tariffs and will only ever act in the national interest.
“Our Plan for Change has delivered a deal which will open up exclusive access for UK beef farmers to the US market for the first time ever and all agricultural imports coming to the UK will have to meet our high SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) standards.”